District gold's the goal for Souderton's Musterait

By Bill KeenStaff writer

Thursday

Feb 27, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 27, 2014 at 6:45 PM

As he stands on the blocks waiting for the starter to send him off on a 50- or 100-yard date with destiny, the last thing Souderton’s Kevin Musterait is thinking about is how long it’s going to take him to do it.

“Personally, I don’t look at times,” said the senior, the second seed in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle Friday and Saturday for the District One Class AAA swimming championships at La Salle University.

“I just look at what I’m going to do and how I’m feeling that day. It all comes down to looking at a person and saying, ‘I’m going to beat you,’ because that’s my motivation.”

Musterait has had an outstanding season. His crowning achievement to date was setting North Penn pool records in the 50 and 100 free at the Suburban One League Continental Conference championships.

“It gave me a place and a good seeding so I can go up against the people at districts,” Musterait said. “I just want to win; that’s my goal.”

Anybody who saw his fantastic anchor leg in the 400 free relay at Continentals — he hit the water second by a body length-and-a-half and still won — will not be surprised to hear him say victory is his objective.

What he says about his first try at competitive swimming definitely is a jaw-dropper.

“When I first started swimming, I was actually kicked off the team because I didn’t swim fast enough or well enough,” he said. “Over time, I got faster and faster, and it wasn’t necessarily in the the sprint events — it was in the 25 or 50 backstroke.

“It was when I started in high school I converted over to (sprint free), because that’s when I started to be good in them.”

Musterait’s best finishes in his three district meets are a pair of fifths, as a sophomore in the 50 and last season in the 100. Last March at Bucknell, he reached the consolation finals in both and came home second and third, respectively.

Put it all together, and it’s easy to see why he’s confident his final trip to states can come with district gold medals around his neck. The anchor leg of the Continental 400 free relay is all the inspiration he needs to make it happen.

“I have the potential to take gold if I can go as fast as I did in that race,” said Musterait, with conviction. “I can go into this and know I’m better now because I’ve proven myself before. I’m definitely ready.”